Kotogakko
by kayak
Summary: Don't ask. It's one of those high school AU. Read if you dare.
1. Chapter 1

Kotogakko

He knew he would find him at his usual spot, on top of a small incline over looking the school. Sanji was always there during lunch, and today was no exception. Laying on his back and staring aimlessly up at the sky, Zoro could tell he was in one of those moods of his. He hated how annoying he was during those times.

Sanji made no indication that he heard Zoro climbing up to see him. He only moved his arm over his eyes and rolled his head to the side. His cigarette dangled lazily from his mouth.

"Oi, the soccer club wants to know if you're coming today. They said you haven't been attending all week."

He didn't say anything. Only a puff of smoke blew from his cigarette. Zoro didn't even know if he was listening to him.

Zoro prodded his shoe with his shinai. "Oi, answer me, you shitty bum."

Sanji lifted his head and stared passed him. Zoro turned and looked down below. There was only the empty swimming pool. Being only the middle of winter, obviously the pool was closed. The swimming club wouldn't start up again until the next term and that wasn't for another three more months.

That pervert. So that was it. Now Zoro understood why he was so depressed and despondent lately. It was widely known that Sanji enjoyed watching the girls' swim team. He always made it a habit to sneak up here after class. Now that it was their last term in school before graduation, there would be no more pretty girls in bathing suits to gawk at.

He finally spoke, "I'm quitting the soccer club."

"Huh? What for?"

Sanji shrugged his shoulders, almost indifferently. "Got other things to do."

"They'll be mad. They were counting on you."

"They'll have to play without me eventually," he said simply.

Zoro slumped down beside him, carefully setting his shinai on the damp grass. The swimming pool seemed strangely a little lonely and sad. He wondered how many times he wandered his way up here to drag Sanji away.

Breaking the momentary silence, he asked, "Oi, have you decided what you're going to do?"

"Not really. What about you?"

"I probably just go to a university."

"Humph," he softly sniggered. "You think you can get in one of them. You can't even find your way here sometimes."

He smacked him across the top of his head for his remark. Laughing, Sanji sat up straight and peered over his shoulder. At least he was snapping out of that mood of his.

"Uh oh, here comes the food patrol." He took one last inhale of his cigarette before flicking it away.

"SANJI! SANJI!"

Zoro groaned and shook his head. The wild-eyed first-year student ran like a madman with his long arms stretched high in the air, waving happily at them.

"I'm hungry! Please tell me you have some food."

"I got it, I got it. Here," Sanji answered lazily, tossing a plastic bag with the remainder of his lunch over to him.

Luffy caught it deftly, the way a seal would catch a tossed fish without even thinking. A huge grin quickly spanned the entire width of his face. He slapped his hands together and bowed to give thanks. "Arigato, Sanji!" Laughing excitedly, he disappeared as quickly as he appeared.

No words could express Zoro's amazement at the super-skinny little brat. Not only could he eat like there was no tomorrow, but he had the nerve to bother Sanji almost everyday for his leftover. Sometimes there weren't any and he would whine like a little baby, which would promptly earn him a kick from Sanji for bugging him. "You know you're not suppose to feed wild animals. They only come back for more."

After lunch, they made their way back to the school building. Zoro was pushing his way through the crowd of students, his shinia resting on his shoulder and his school bag jostling against his back. Sanji followed two steps behind him with his hands stuffed in his pants pockets. Every so often he pointed in what direction to go which miffed Zoro. Of course he knew where their classroom was. He didn't need him to tell him where to go. Truthfully though, all the doors and hallway looked the same to him.

They reached their classroom with time to spare which was good because a long line formed outside. Zoro and Sanji moved to the end of the line and waited. Being a tall guy, Zoro couldn't miss the mixed barrage of protest and shouts heading towards them. Turned out a girl with short copper hair was the source of the all commotion. He craned his neck to get a better look and instantly recognized her as a second-year student, Nami. She was a bossy and brainy girl, something he recalled hearing from the other guys. And from the looks of it, she was violent too.

Nami was shoving students left and right, knocking one guy's books out of his hands, trampling on another guy's foot. By the time she stomped all the way to where Sanji stood, the crowd quieted down to watch them. He stared at her, surprised and perplexed. She took one swing at him and slugged him in the guts. He doubled over from the assault, his arms wrapping around his abdomen.

"You are going to take me to the movie at the Plaza next Saturday. Noon. Don't be late," she ordered bitterly, waving her fist. There was a single piece of paper crumpled under the wrath of her right hand. "And wear something nice."

Nami didn't wait for his reply and left just as angry. Sanji, on the other hand, had one of the stupidest grin he had ever seen and was mumbling something about how wonderful and beautiful she was.

Tch, if she had hit him like that, Zoro would have just smacked her right back. Guy or girl, it didn't matter to him. He took another look at Sanji and found him blushing like a little girl. Baka, he thought. Like he should care what happens to that dumbass. It's not like that was the first time some girl hit him.


	2. Chapter 2

Kotogakko

Nami sat on a bench glaring at her wristwatch. Sanji was late as expected for someone like him. She would give him another five minutes before she give up on her plan and go home.

The nerve of that guy. He thought he could just leave her a pathetic love letter and waltz away like a bad soap drama. She already knew who she was dealing with from his notorious reputation: a smoker with a short-fuse and a foul-mouth, who got into many fights. How he even managed to enroll in her school mystified her. The entry exams were probably more lenient before she took them.

She finally spotted him racing along the sidewalk on the opposite side. He ran hard to the footbridge, climbing the stairs two steps at a time. When he got to her, he was gasping for air, his hands resting on his knees to hold himself up. Nami's arms folded across her chest as she took in his sloppy appearance. He still wore his dingy school uniform. The double-breasted jacket left unbuttoned, his tie hanging loose and his hair in a mess. Worst of all, he reeked of cigarette and raw fish.

"Sorry, I got busy at work."

"Let's go," she snapped. "We're going to miss the movie."

Of course she made him pay for the tickets and the snacks. She glared at him every time he tried to strike up a conversation until he finally got the hint and kept quiet. Afterwards, she demanded to go to a dessert shop. They went to a fancy one in the area and she ordered the most expensive dish on the menu.

In the end, she left him speechless when she told him she was bored and was going home. The date from hell, exactly what she wanted to give him. It should take care of any fixation he had of her.

So she thought.

"What the hell?" In her shoe locker was another love letter attached to a small pink cardboard box. She snatched incriminating objects and quickly jammed them into her bag before anyone saw.

Alarmed and angry, she calmed herself enough to remind herself to stay strong and logically. Evidently she didn't try hard enough and he needed another 'date' to see how wrong he was for her.

Nami punched Sanji again and told him to meet her at a French cafe for lunch. Hiding behind a phone booth, she found him waiting in front of the cafe and then she left him there. This time, she decided, she would be the one to be late. For three hours, she killed time by window shopping, trying on outfits, reading the fashion magazines and listening to the newest J-pop.

When it was time to go home, she was horrified to see he was still waiting for her. Unfortunately for her, the subway entrance sat right in front of the cafe. She was debating whether it was better to just walk to the next station when she saw he finally left. Good, she thought. He gave up. With the coast clear, she headed to the subway only to find him waiting below with a big smile on his face. Nami gave in by then and they had a quick bite to eat before she ran off. He still paid of course.

At her school desk, Nami stared at another love letter and dessert box hidden in her school bag.

"Nami, is there anything going on between you and that guy?"

"NO!" The force of her voice almost frightened Vivi out of her chair.

Time for a new tactic.

Nami brought a big bag of laundry from home minus the undergarments, she didn't want to give him any ideas, and handed it over to him. She told him she needed them cleaned and folded before they went anywhere on their date. Irritatingly enough, Sanji accepted his chore without any complaints and went as far as to proclaim he would have it done as quickly as possible so she would not have to endure the mundane surrounding for very long. She only waved him away and reminded him not to forget the fabric softener.

The laundromat, with its noisy television and the vending machines, was deserted. Nami picked out a seat by the entrance and found a magazine to read, leaving Sanji to his own devices. Every so often, she peered over her magazine to find him smiling happily at her. She paid him no attention and ducked back to her reading.

After an hour or so, she found him busy pulling the last piece of clothing from the dryer and arranging it on the counter. There were three neat stacks of folded blouses, skirts and pants, all lined up in a single row. Sanji's face brightened at the sight of her watching, waiting for her approval.

To her disappointment, she found everything was cleaned and folded, better than if she had done it herself, but she didn't dare mention that to him. With nothing else to do, they left the laundromat together. The chilly winter air called for something warm to drink, which Nami paid for. Even she had her limits on how much she mooched off of guys.

While savoring her drink, she couldn't believe her ears. He asked if there was anything else she needed him to do. He was more than willing to help with any other work. Her hands flew up to cover her face in frustration. This guy was not normal. And he wouldn't stop smiling at her. She quickly made up some excuse to leave and bolted out with the laundry.

With her chin resting on her school desk, Nami could only sob in utter defeat. Another day, another love letter and another dessert box.

"This is good. Where does he get these?" Vivi asked as she took another bite out of a pink daifuku mochi.

Nami murmured something to Vivi, but didn't feel obligated to say anything else after that. While she didn't show anybody the love letters, they were way too sappy and embarrassing, she didn't bother to hide the dessert snacks anymore and had openly offered them to her female classmates. They seemed to enjoy the sweets.

"You could always tell him you're not interested, Nami," Vivi suggested.

"No way," she retorted. The honesty approach? She would never resort to something so cliche. It was personal to her, a matter of pride. She always got her way and she never lost in a challenge.

"Maybe it's because you're playing hard to get. Some guys like that so they keep trying."

"Huh?"

"It's just an idea, but you can always try to act normal next time. You know, be nice and polite," Vivi spoke nervously. "Uh maybe."

Nami's eyes narrowed suspiciously at Vivi. That idea sounded too dumb to work, which made her think there was something else going on. Reluctantly she decided it couldn't hurt to try Vivi's idea. No matter how stupid it was, she was considered herself an open-minded person. Besides, nothing she tried was working.

For a change, she told Sanji to pick out the time and place to meet. Not surprisingly, he picked the park. A typical hang-out spot for couples, but she left it slide. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing romantic about barren lifeless trees, or pigeon droppings on wet, cold concrete. Nami wore a blue turtle-neck sweater and a long pleaded skirt that touched all the way down to her ankles. He still wore his school uniform, but at least he didn't smell of raw fish. She wondered if he wore anything but his school uniform.

They walked without any real direction as he gushed over how lovely she looked and how everything paled in comparison to her radiant eyes. She rolled her eyes and kept her replies short and simple. Suddenly his pale complexion became flushed, maybe from the cold, she couldn't be sure. And more than once, she caught him glancing down at her hand. She quickly made it unavailable by moving it up to hang onto the strap of her purse. Like hell she was going to hold hands with him. There was a flash of disappointment in his face, which proved she was right in her assumption.

"So how's school? You're graduating soon."

"Hai," he replied followed by silence.

"Vivi says you're in the soccer club."

His hand slid from his pocket and cigarette appeared in his mouth, but he left it unlit. "I quit."

Seriously getting bored and feeling very awkward, she was running out of things to say. With luck maybe he felt the same.

"You wanna get something to eat? There's udon stand not far from here."

It was a small stand owned by little old man with wispy white hair. He greeted Sanji familiarly like a regular customer and took their orders. Nami pulled back the short split curtain and climbed onto the stool, taking note of the udon stand. Kind of old fashion, she didn't think anyone still ran them.

"How were those mochi? Did you like them?" he asked unexpectedly.

"Uh, those, they were kind of good. The girls in my class liked them."

Hanging on her words, he let out a sigh of relieve and looked pleased. "I'm glad."

Out of sheer annoyance, her fingers drummed softly on the counter. "Why do you keep sending them?" She wanted to observe his reaction to her question, but his face was concealed underneath a fringe of thick blond hair.

"I thought you might like them. You seemed to enjoy sweets during our first date."

Oh yes, the first date. She couldn't even remember the title of the film that they saw together. True, it wasn't suppose to be a memorable date. He should had been pissed off at her and not continuously send her letters and gifts. After all it worked before with the other unwanted suitors. She sighed heavily to herself. Dating was so troublesome. No, it was boys who were troublesome.

Nami studied her bowl for a moment before picking up the chopsticks. The udon tasted good and hot. From the corner of her eye, she could tell he was watching her. What should she do now? She was in unfamiliar territory.

"You don't like me, but you don't dislike me?" he asked quietly. It was more like a question than a statement. Sanji returned the bowl, the udon half eaten, back to the owner.

She blinked at him once and then closed her eyes entirely as she thought over the question. "Honestly, I don't really know you."

There was a long pause as he digested her words. "Do you want me to leave you alone?"

"No." Did she answer him too quickly? The simple little word popped out from nowhere on its own. He only smiled. It was enough for him for now. She suppose there was no harm to try a little longer. "No more love letters. The snacks you can continue to send, but please no more love letters."


	3. Chapter 3

Kotogakko

Zoro walked down the stairs, scratching his head. He took a turn down the long hallway and entered one of the classroom. A group of unfamiliar first-year students stared suspiciously at him. He slammed the door closed and headed back to the stairs, grumbling to himself. Stupid Sanji, he should have come with him to the cafeteria. Whoever designed the layout this school should be killed. It was like a goddamn maze.

While contemplating his situation, a girl darted up to him and timidly handed him a small box. Zoro accepted it and bowed his head in appreciation before stuffing the umpteenth gift in his school bag. The day wasn't turning out so badly. Valentine's Day always bought him lots of chocolates. With his luck changing for the better, he caught sight of one of his classmate and chased after him. Along the way, he picked up three more chocolate.

Everyone was trapped indoor for the holiday because of the light drizzle. He spotted Sanji, his head lying flat on his desk by the windows. Zoro made such a racket sitting down next to him, it should have pissed him off and got him shouting. Rather strange, he remained quiet and motionless. He frowned, took out the melon breads he bought and offered him one.

Sanji finally made some signs of life and waved his bread away.

"So how many you got so far?" His mouth full of lunch, Zoro peeked in his bag to count the number of chocolate. He inspected a homemade one only to grimace. It was from that weird girl, Perona. Oh well. Chocolate was chocolate. It still counted toward his total.

It was a little game he and Sanji played, who could get the most chocolate on Valentine's Day. Naturally, he always won.

Sanji didn't say anything. Instead his hand made a sign, the tip of his index finger touching the tip of his thumb.

"What? You got only three?"

His hand turned into a fist and he punched his shoulder.

"Ouch. Watch it."

Again he made the same sign, but this time his other three fingers were curled against his palm.

"Huh? You didn't get any?" That was weird. Sanji wasn't that unlucky with the girls. Some actually thought, in their crazy minds, that he was good-looking. Maybe if you squint your eyes hard enough, he thought. Anyway, he should have at least gotten obligation chocolate from somebody. Zoro didn't get a chance to ponder the mystery any further before they were interrupted by the unstoppable force.

"SANJI!" Luffy came blasting in from nowhere. His mouth smeared in chocolate.

Sanji was instinctively ready for him. His head still seemingly glued to his desk, he lifted his arm and stretched out his lunch in the direction Luffy was coming from. Luffy snatched the plastic bag and raced straight out.

"Thank you!" he shouted, flashing them a big happy smile. His eyes fixed on his prize, he paid little attention to the blank stares thrown at him. Just as he reached the doorway, he crashed into somebody and fell on the floor.

"Sorry!" Luffy made a quick recovery and bounced back up, sidestepping around the victim and apologizing at the same time. Unfortunately for him, his apology wasn't enough for the girl. She yanked him by his collar, stopping him in his track.

"What are you doing away from your classroom?" Both her fists planted firmly on her hips. Nami took a quick look at him and pointed to the lunch bag. "And how can you still be eating after all that chocolate?"

"I'm hungry!" he said simply as if that was the answer to all of life's questions.

"Tell me something I don't know," she grumbled, shaking her head in annoyance. Evidently, she felt it wasn't worth her time and energy to chew him out so she let him go with a warning to be careful.

Zoro blinked at her once, wondering what the hell she was up to. She took her time peeping around before sneaking her way in. The dirty glare she gave him, which told him to mind his own business. Finally her eyes fell on the person in question.

She called to Sanji and when he raised his head in surprise, she threw something at him. An object smacked him sharply on the forehead. Rubbing his brow, he gaped stupidly at the thing that dropped on his desk. It was plain tiny white box with a blue ribbon tied around it. To say his dumb face lit up like a pachinko machine was an understatement. He looked happier than the time he beat up Jyabura after catching him lurking on his turf. He stumbled to say something to her, but she had already disappeared by then.

Sheesh, that was perfectly charming of her. A real princess that one was. Supposedly they were dating, but it seemed to him, Sanji was only running her errands and doing her class rep work. Normally, he would get rejected, mope about it for a few days and the move on to the next pretty girl, repeating the whole cycle again. The idiot had simply gone off the deep-end with this one. When he would he snap out of it and come to his senses was anyone's guess.

Zoro went back to his lunch only to choke on his food when he saw what Sanji was doing. He was actually rubbing the silly box to his cheek, sprouting nonsensical words of admiration for Nami. Zoro slapped his palm to his forehead, asking himself why did they hang out together. That was so unmanly.

He couldn't take it anymore. "Oi, let me try one." It was a weak attempt on Zoro's part to break Sanji out of his euphoric state. Anything was better than to listen to his chatter.

"No!" He drew back alarmed and angry. He pulled the box away from Zoro, shielding it under his arms.

"I only want a bite. I wanna to know if that witch can make anything."

"Hell no!"

"Come on. It's just a piece of candy! I'll give you some of mine."

Zoro reached over to grab it, but Sanji foot came in, pushing him back. After a few more minutes of struggle, Zoro gave up and let the dumbass keep his 'precious' chocolate. Anyway, lunch was over and everyone was eyeing them with disapproving frowns.

The teacher, a very tall and skinny man, came in and settled the class. He was a cheery old man that always told jokes that only he found funny. For some reason, Zoro always had trouble focusing on his teacher's words. He managed to scribble a word or phrase here and there, but it was really hard to fight off his heavy eyelids. Then Sanji kicked him in the shin. He yawned, unconcerned about Sanji's rudeness until he noticed the classroom was empty.

"Crap." He dozed off for only a minute and suddenly school was over.

"Shithead," Sanji spat. "You sleep too much." He banged his notebook on top of his head and left it perched there.

Zoro moaned and grabbed hold of his book and started flipping through the pages. He needed to borrow Sanji's class notes again.

"Bring it by work when you finished copying it. That is if you can find your way."

"I know where it is," he retorted.

"Yeah right, marimo."

Sanji left before him, floating off with Nami's Valentine's Day chocolate in a blissful daze. The guy hadn't even open the box to eat it yet. Zoro gathered all his things and headed out. Where the hell were the lockers? Damn!

A blonde-haired girl with two long pig-tails approached him and offered him a chocolate. He stopped himself when he recalled her face from somewhere before. Tapping his chin, he mentally strained for the girl's name.

"Conis, right?"

She nodded, a little puzzled.

"Didn't you give Sanji chocolate last year?"

"Well yes," she said slowly. She avoided his eyes and found instead something interesting to study on the ground.

"You didn't give him any this year?"

Making sure no one else was around, Conis motioned him to come closer and spoke in a low voice. "It's Nami. She told all the girls not to give him any or else she..." She paused and whispered the last bit to him. Taking a step back, she continued, "She can be very scary when she doesn't get her way."

He let out a laugh so loud, it frightened Conis. She quickly scurried off before anyone saw them together.

That was so underhanded of Nami, it was hilarious. Sure it was annoying to deal with Sanji in his lovesick mode, but it could be fun to watch what other things that could be in store for him. Now what to do with this little information, he mused.


	4. Chapter 4

Kotogakko

Usopp could feel the hair on the back of his neck rise just as he got off the subway. It had nothing to do with the cold weather. Instead it had more to do with where he was. He hated coming to this particular part of town, but there was only one store that sold his favorite brand of colored markers. His plan was to get them without any dillydallying and be back on the subway before he ran into any kind of scary things. He learned long ago, areas with many old buildings had a way of attracting all sorts of unusual beings.

The crowd was moderate so he took a quick detour through the plaza and crossed the street using the foot bridge. When he got half-way on the bridge, it was there he felt that tingling sensation that always made him sweat and tremble.

"Yikes!" he squeaked. Already something found him. His back straightened and his hand dug into his knapsack. He was prepared. A real man was always prepared! He always carried with him an assortment of talismans from various different cultures. He found the combination of the cross and ofuda seemed to work the best in warding off evil supernatural nasties. Of course his lucky rabbit's foot was added in there for additional protection.

Holding onto all three items, he spun around to meet his challenge. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

An old lady with her white hair wrapped in a tight bun stared at him. She stood at only half his height and was dressed in a plain kimono and a pair of geta.

What an embarrassing moment. Usopp laughed weakly, putting his things away before there were questions. She continued to stare.

"Look over there!" He pointed at something behind her. When she turned to follow the direction of his finger, he took off jogging. He didn't stop until he was well away from the bridge.

Another false alarm. Old people sometimes caused that creepy feeling. Still, to be on the safe side, he got out his salt and started sprinkling it as he walked.

He made it successfully to the stationery store without any incident and found his markers. Happy that he accomplished that much, he took a peek in a magazine while waiting for the line at the cash register to shorten. Trying his hardest not to giggle out loud, he went through three magazines before he remembered he should be getting in line to pay.

Someone tapped his shoulder. He yelped and his magazine flew out of his hand.

"Geez, Usopp. Relax, it's only me."

He looked over his shoulder and found a girl close to his age carrying a shopping basket filled with colored paper, tape and glue. She had on a navy double-breasted jacket and a tartan skirt. Her white blouse was clean and neat with a red tie knotted perfectly around her neck. The girls at his school wore the traditional black seifuku so by his standard, her school uniform was foreign-looking and modern.

"Nami, long time no see." They had attended the same middle school together, but separated when he followed his childhood friend, Kaya, to her school.

"Still as nervous as ever, eh."

"I'm not nervous," he protested.

She laughed. "If you say so."

"What are you buying? That's not all for you, is it?"

"Oh these. They're for class. Teacher wants us to do a project for team building. We came up with an idea to do a collage of all the memorable things that happen to us in our second year."

"Wow, that sounds like fun. My teacher is boring. All he wants us to do is to write an essay on how to be a good citizen."

She stuck out the tip of her tongue. "It figures."

"Nami, do you think this is big enough? This is the biggest one I can find."

The voice belonged to another girl. He spotted her moving towards them. She was dressed the same fashion as Nami and was holding a large display board.

Vivi hesitated a moment when she saw him. Then her eyes widened and her mouth curled into a big grin when she recognized him. "Usopp!" she cried.

"Vivi!" His hands flew up in an exaggerated excitement.

After they made their purchases and left the store, they chitchat about old times and their new schools. He hadn't seem them for almost two years and it was nice to see them again. Busy with his own school and house work, he lost touch with them. Back then, Vivi and Nami were inseparable, which was a feat to pull off in the beginning since they were in different classroom in their first year of middle school. With Nami's help, Vivi's test improved for the following year and they were all placed in the same classroom for the remainder of the next two years.

"What's all that noise?" Vivi asked.

Usopp could tell somebody was wailing like someone was trying to kill him. He quietly inched away from the two girls. Suddenly something didn't feel right and he wanted to make a hasty good-bye.

"That sounds like Luffy. Come on. Let's go check it out." Nami grabbed hold of his knapsack and pulled him to follow.

"Wait, wait. I remember I have an orthodontic treatment appointment followed by an emergency laparoscopic surgery."

"Don't be such a scaredy-cat."

"No, no, really. I have to go. I'm going to be late." He almost stuttered the last part.

She ignored everything he said and kept dragging him along. It was pointless to tell her why he really wanted to go. No one ever believed him. No matter how hard he explained. He started to panic. He wanted to get away, but his mind drew a blank when he tried to come up with another excuse to leave.

The scary sensation grew stronger the closer they got to the crying. He had a really bad feeling about it. Something horrible was definitely up ahead. His hands snaked into his knapsack to grab hold of his cross and rabbit's foot. A real man was always prepared, he told himself.

"I think it's coming from over there." Vivi led the way while carrying display board. A couple times she stopped and changed direction. The muffled wailing was clearly moving away from them and they had to hurry to catch up. They were almost there to the source. A few people hurried past them with frightened looks in their eyes.

They only had to turn the corner at the candy store and they would find whoever was in trouble. Usopp couldn't bear to look and had his eyes shut tight. The wailing had become so painfully, it was inhumane.

"Dumbass! You said you knew where it was."

"Let go me! Let go me!"

From the voices he heard, Usopp assumed it was safe and he cracked opened one eye to look. What he saw wasn't as scary as he envisioned, but was still kind of strange. There were two guys. The green-haired one was dressed in navy school uniform and was putting another guy in a headlock. The skinny boy wrestled against him to get out of it, but was having no luck.

"Oh it's you. What do you want?" the tall one asked when he noticed them. He seemed unconcerned about them watching.

Nami took the initiative. "We want to know what you are doing to Luffy? We can hear his screaming from the other side of the plaza."

"Nothing." He released his hold, letting Luffy fall to the ground.

Luffy sat up straight and rubbed his neck. "You don't have to be so mean, Zoro. I'm pretty sure it's over there."

"You've been saying that all afternoon!" Frustrated, he stomped over to a bench and threw his bag on the ground before slumping down to sit.

Zoro, as he was called, was clearly irritated which explained why Usopp was getting all distress. Though he wasn't an evil spirit, he sure felt like one. Just like old people, angry people also gave him that queasy feeling. But what was up with the green hair? Some kind of fad?

"Hey, Zoro. Maybe Nami knows where it is."

"Like hell she would know. She doesn't care about those sort of things."

"Well maybe you should try asking me first before dismissing me," she countered.

"All right, Miss Smarty Pants. Do you know where Sanji works?"

She opened her mouth like she was going to say something important but stopped and then was quiet for a long moment.

"Ha, I knew it."

Vivi leaned over to Nami and whispered, "You don't know?"

"He never told me."

"You never asked him?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Was I suppose to?"

Vivi sighed and shook her head. She wanted to say more but realized Usopp was eavesdropping.

"Sushi! Sushi! Sanji makes sushi!" Luffy shouted and jumped off the ground.

"Yes, yes, I know he makes sushi. The question is where does he make sushi."

"Did you call him up and ask him where it was?" Vivi suggested.

"He doesn't own a cell phone and I don't know the number to his work."

"There can't be that many sushi bars around here. Did you go through all of them?"

"This numbskull says he's been there before, but we can't even find one sushi bar." Zoro pointed to a grinning Luffy.

"Sanji makes really good sushi." Luffy's mouth was salivating and his stomach grumbled.

They discussed the matter some more while Usopp stood and listened in. Being the outsider, he couldn't participate with them and even if he tried, he had nothing to add. He rarely ventured into this part of town. Suddenly it occurred to him that this was a good opportunity to take off while they were immersed in their talk. He took a couple of steps back to leave when Nami stopped him with that glare of hers.

"Where do you think you're going?"

He heaved a long sigh. He guessed he would have to stay and see how it turned out.

Vivi remembered eating at sushi bar close by and after a short walk, they found it. When they all went inside, they were met with disappointment. The owner never even heard of Sanji. When she asked if there was another sushi restaurant in the area, the owner shook her head.

Luffy was outside, studying the front, tilting his head from left to right. "It had food stand sign at the entrance," he said slowly. Pounding his forehead with both his fists, he thought some more. "With lots of wooden boards."

"Wooden boards. You mean tables?"

"I forgot. I'm hungry! Can't we get something to eat first?"

"You can eat when we find Sanji."

Luffy only moaned, his expression turning sad.

"Wooden boards? Maybe he means Go boards. There's a Go parlor over on the north side of the plaza."

"Huh? Who are you?" Zoro noticed Usopp even though he was following them the whole time. He regarded him warily with narrowed eyes.

Nervous at the undeserved scrutiny he was receiving, he scrambled behind Nami.

"Never mind that. Just lead the way, Usopp."

Soon enough, they spotted the old beat up food sign stand Luffy had mentioned before. No wonder they couldn't find it. They were searching for the wrong type of shop. It was really a Go parlor that served food in the back. Go was a popular board game for the older generation. Usopp tried a few times to learn the basic, but could never get into it. The place was well-lit and filled with a haze of cigarette smoke. There at least eight small tables lined up in a single row. Luffy ran past them to the back, screaming Sanji's name. Half a dozen old men looked up from their games to scowl at him. The situation made Usopp's skin crawl.

"Oi, not so loud," a yellow-haired guy chided. He was busy with a kettle, pouring tea and wiping the tables.

"There you are. Here's your goddamn notebook." Zoro tossed his book at him. Sanji caught it with one hand as he poured tea for another customer.

Sanji's voice went up a couple of pitch when he saw the girls. "Nami-san! Did you come to see me!" Did he just danced over to them with heart-shaped eyes?

Nami held up her hand and stopped his mad dash to greet them. "We wanted something to eat." There was a flash of disappointment in his eyes before he turned to stare at him.

"Who are you?" His mannerism did a complete U-turn, becoming very hostile towards Usopp. He jumped behind Vivi. What's up with males from their school?

Nami, Vivi, and Usopp took a table in the back, while Zoro and Luffy move to the counter. Apparently he made a deal to feed him. Luffy climbed onto the counter pointing at all the food he wanted.

"I want nigirizushi, inarizushi, temarizushi, gunkanmaki, makizushi..." he continued to list several more food with Zoro pulling at his collar to sit down.

"That's too much and expensive. Pick only two."

Sanji bought them all drinks at their table and left them to take care of Luffy. Nami took a long slip from a bottle drink. Even Vivi had nice drink. He glanced at his lukewarm tap water in an ugly glass. He made a mental note to not eat here again.

Vivi nudged her elbow at her. "Nami, have you kissed him yet?"

Caught off guard, Nami spit out her juice. "Why you ask that for? And that's none of your business."

"You're so slow," she teased. She tried hard not to giggle.

Nami rolled her eyes and pulled out a textbook in an attempt to read. Finding that impossible to do with all the noise Luffy, Zoro and Sanji were making, she made Usopp explain to her why he didn't go to their school. Their school was considered the best in the area and he was no slouch when it came to school. He fumbled with his answer and simply said he wanted to be closer to home. He could tell Nami didn't believe him, but luckily for him she didn't press him any further on the subject.

Vivi was nice enough to give him a brief explanation of who their fellow schoolmates were. "Zoro and Sanji are one year ahead of us so I don't really know them that well. They are in the same class. Luffy is a first year student." She paused to think and continued, "Zoro is in the kendo club. Sanji and Luffy are in the soccer club. I think that's how they know Luffy. They all seem like good friends."

There was a large bang as something heavy was dropped to the floor. Cursing and yelling ensued after the sound of crashing plates resonated throughout the parlor. Usopp tensed up at every loud noise them made, which was often. A couple of the older patrons had enough of the racket and left, grumbling to each other.

Silently, Usopp wished he could go home too.


	5. Chapter 5

Kotogakko

Every so often, Nami peered out the tinted window to remind herself that she was indeed riding in a car. The ride was so smooth and quiet it was hard to tell if she was moving at all. With its spacious interior, heated leather seats, moonroof and the fancy electronic built-in, it was the kind of luxury sedan that she would see in the movies. Having ridden in the occasional taxi cabs, she could instantly tell there was a huge difference in power, speed and steering. To say it simply, Nami was very impressed with Vivi's father's car.

Normally, she and Vivi took the subway home together after school. Today they broke routine when Vivi's father came to pick her up. Nefertari offered to drop Nami off at her home, which she accepted without any hesitation. It was better than riding the subway alone.

There was an emergency business meeting that required his immediate attention and he needed to fly out on the earliest flight to Hong Kong. Rather than leave his only daughter behind for a week, he opted to take her along on the trip. It wasn't the first time he left on the spur of the moment, taking Vivi with him. Last year, they flew to London and New York City.

The atmosphere in the car was filled with mostly Vivi's chatter. Sometimes Nami could hear Nefertari giving instructions to his driver.

"Take a look at this, Nami." Vivi handed her a magazine.

She took a quick glance at the young man's photograph and then realized she couldn't read all the text accompanying it. "Who's that?"

"Mr. Hong Kong." She laughed, hiding her mouth behind the magazine. "Can you believe they have a beauty pageant for men? I saw a movie clip of their swimsuit competition on the Internet. It was very funny."

"I bet it was," she replied, feigning interest. She couldn't bring herself to add anymore. Vivi had more fascination with the opposite gender than she did. She wouldn't call her boy-crazy like a couple of the girls she knew at school, but it wouldn't be odd if the conversation often strayed to the topic of boys. Not that she didn't notice boys herself, she just found the ones attending her school annoying, loud and immature.

Sensing her disinterest in the magazine, Vivi put it away and pulled out a pamphlet from the side pocket of her schoolbag. She flipped it opened to show her something so different that it immediately caught her attention.

"The University of Tokyo," Nami read slowly.

"Wouldn't it be fantastic if we both got accepted there. We can be roommates and take classes together."

Nami shook her head. "You know that's hard to get in. It's the most prestigious university in Japan. Everyone wants to go to there." She took a few minutes to peruse through the pamphlet. Todai had five different campuses and boasted several faculties and graduate schools. It was a very old school, founded more than a century ago by the government. That alone made it sound elite in her mind.

"It wouldn't be hard for you to score high enough in the entrance examinations . You're the top of our class. I'm the one that needs help."

"I don't know," she replied slowly. "Isn't it too early to be worrying about entrance exams. We still haven't finished school."

"It is best that youngsters start as soon as possible in preparation for their future," Nefertari interjected. He lowered his paperwork and pushed his spectacles up to show he was listening in. "Isn't the best preparation for the future, is doing your best in the present?"

There was a brief silence as Nami digested his words. Doing her best, she mused. She hadn't really given that much thought about the future and what she would do after school. It seemed like a whole world away. Nojiko, her older sister, went straight to work after her schooling was done. She assumed she would do the same. Suddenly the idea of furthering her education was opening many possibilities she didn't consider before. She could be a doctor, lawyer, manager, or banker. Something that could make her look very professional and pay her lots of money appealed to her. If she had a high paying job, she could buy whatever clothes she wanted, eat at any restaurant that suited her fancy and ride in taxi cabs instead of taking the crowded subways.

Vivi and Nami talked about many possibilities and how exciting it would be to live in Tokyo. By the time they finally dropped her off at her house, she was convinced they could get in together. Vivi let her keep the pamphlet to study it in more detail, putting it in one of pockets of her school bag while Nami pulled on her jacket and climbed out of the car.

Vivi rolled down the window and poked her head out. "I'll buy you something in Hong Kong, okay."

"Don't forget to read the chapters the teacher assigned us."

"Yes, yes. I'm bringing all my books."

"Good." They waved each other good-bye as the car drove off.

Inside her home, Nami could hear the sound of vacuuming and the television. She took off her shoes, put on her house slippers and headed to the kitchen. Nojiko was too busy cleaning to start dinner yet so there was nothing cooking on the stove. The sink was filled with two days worth of dishes, pots and pans, which would probably end up turning into three days worth since no one liked washing them. She dug around the drawer for a clean spoon and was soon snacking on a custard pudding she found in the refrigerator. Finding the kitchen too untidy to stay in, she moved into her room and dropped her things on the floor before turning on the music and settling on her bed.

The vacuuming stopped. "Don't eat anything. Bellemere-san bringing home dinner," Nojiko called from the living room.

"Okay." Nami quickly finished her pudding and disposed of the evidence in the trash. With that done, she pulled out her bag and started on her homework.

Few minutes later, Nojiko was standing above her, surveying her room. "You could have at least wash the dishes, Nami." She sighed, sounding tired. She grabbed the forgotten pudding spoon off her desk and threw her a knowing look.

"Hmm? Did you want me to clean them?" she asked. She looked up from her book and put on her honest face. Nojiko wore a yellow shirt that was almost faded white from the constant washing. Her short purple hair was held in place with a red headband that she liked to wear while working. She was only a few years older than Nami, but acted like she was the boss of the house.

"Don't try to act so innocent." Rolling up her sleeves, Nojiko turned left and headed back into the kitchen. The faucet was running and the dishes was being moved around. "You can be so lazy. It would be nice if you helped out with the chores without being told to."

"I promise I'll help more when the exams are over."

"I heard that before."

In no time at all, she finished her school work, double-checked it and then crammed it into her school bag. She hated any kind of mistake and prided herself on her attention to detail and organization. Procrastination was a bad habit to pick up and there was no point putting off work. Of course if she got someone else to do it for her, even better.

Nami left her room, hungry for dinner. When she rounded the corner of the kitchen, she saw Nojiko putting away last of the dishes into the cabinet. Next she started boiling a pot of water, searching for the chrysanthemum flower pattern tea canister. The sink was empty and clean. Nami almost didn't recognize it.

"Bellemere-san isn't home yet? I wish she hurry up. I'm starving."

"What's this trash?" Nojiko stooped down underneath the table to pick something off the floor. Nami realized it was the pamphlet. It must have slipped out of the pocket of her bag. "University of Tokyo."

"Vivi gave that to me," she explained.

Nojiko sank down into a chair and folded it open to glance through a few pages. "You're planning to go there," she snorted in disbelief.

"I can get in. I can score enough."

"It's a waste of money. You don't need a fancy degree to get by in life. If you want to go college, why not go to the one here. They are all the same."

"Why should I, if I can go somewhere much better," she protested. She was baffled by Nojiko's lack of enthusiasm. Wasn't it a great idea? She wasn't seeing the bigger picture, that was it. Nami knew she will need to campaign a bit before they warm up to the idea. "Look, they offer all kinds of courses and programs."

"You only want to go there because Vivi told you to."

"That's not true. I didn't think much of it at first, but think of the things I could learn to do."

"More like you and Vivi messing around. How do you expect to afford that university? Did Vivi say she pay for you?"

Nami stopped. Those few words bought her head back down from the clouds. It would be easy for Vivi. A lot of things came easy for her. Though she was always humble and even embarrassed about her family's wealth, it was apparent to Nami she was in a different social standing compare to other people. It wasn't fair that certain people were born with privilege while other people like her had to struggle. "I wish I had a rich parent," she muttered under her breath.

Nojiko slammed her palm on the table, startling Nami. She had never seen her sister so mad before. "You wish you had a rich parent," she repeated slowly, shaking her head.

"Whatever. Don't tell me you never thought that once." It was the truth. She wasn't going to take back what she said. She was always stuck with the Nojiko's hand-me-down clothes and secondhand toys. She ignored sister's angry gaze to play with the empty cup on the table.

"Do you know how hard Bellemere-san has to work just so you can go to the school you are in now?"

She remained stubbornly quiet.

Nojiko tore up the pamphlet and threw the pieces into the trash. "Just forget about it. It's dumb idea."

For a few empty minutes, Nami stared at the trash bin, wondering what had happened. She felt her cheeks grow warm and her vision blurred. She vaguely heard her sister shouting her name as she left her home.

She ran until her chest started to hurt and was short of breath. She finally slowed to a stop at a convenience store she had never seen before. It would have been nice to buy something to eat since she didn't have dinner yet but she had no money. When she fled the house, she had nothing on her except her cell phone, which was hidden in the pocket of her school jacket. She thought about phoning Vivi, but remembered she was out of the country on her way to Hong Kong. Her stupid luck. Calling Bellemere was out of the question. She always sided with Nojiko whenever they fought.

Feeling even more depress than she did before, she knew no one else close enough to turn to. Not sure where she was heading to, she aimlessly wandered the streets for another hour. The day was getting dimmer and the street lamps were turned on. She brooded over what she should do next when the last person she expected to see came walking towards her.

He was dressed in a light blue hoodie and matching sweatpants with a bath towel hanging around his neck. Judging from his damp hair and the plastic bucket tucked under his arm, he must have come from a communal bath house.

Drat, cursing her misfortune. It was too late for her to make her escape and hide from him so she readied herself for the inevitable questioning.

"Sanji-kun," she said sweetly, forcing a fake smile.

"Nami-san, why are you out so late? It's dangerous to be by yourself." He seemed genuinely concerned.

"You're out here so it can't be that bad."

"I'm a guy."

"Oh really? I didn't notice." She winced, realizing how sarcastic and rude she sounded. She only wanted him to leave her alone. She didn't want his attention. It was sometimes exhausting listening to him spout about how wonderful it was to be with her or whatever other poetic admiration he had of her.

There was an awkward moment as they stood, watching each other. It seemed neither one knew what to say at that point. Nami found whole thing unnerving and finally broke the moment.

"I was just talking a little stroll."

"I'll walk with you!" he responded quickly.

Under ordinary circumstances, she would have flat out refused his invitation to come over to his apartment. In no way did she think Sanji was dangerous, but being alone with him at his home seemed like asking for trouble. But at the time, she didn't care about appearances or caution. She was angry and hurt. Her argument with her sister was still fresh in her mind.

Nami felt a little apprehensive and nervous as she followed Sanji up the stairs to the second floor of a two-story apartment building. What kind of place did he have? She imagined of kinds of crazy possibilities, none of them a proper girl should know. She was seriously having second thoughts.

When he unlocked his door and switched on the light, she was surprised to see it didn't have anything she imagined. It was very small, roughly three tatami big. The cheapest kind of apartment available in town. Nothing separated the kitchen from the main room, save for the flooring. There was another door off to the side which was probably where the toilet was. The only furniture he had was a kotatsu with a blue checkered blanket and a drawer chest.

Sanji asked if she had eaten anything, which she reluctantly answered no. He immediately set out to cook something, leaving her to explore the rest of his place. The walls were decorated with a few pictures cut out from magazines and one boring-looking calendar, the kind they gave away at the grocery store. She spotted his school uniform on a coat hanger, dangling from the window frame. He didn't seem to have anything interesting to look at so she took a seat on cushion by the kotatsu and buried her legs beneath its warm blanket. Her foot bumped against something, which she discovered was a deflated soccer ball. Why that would be under the kotatsu, she couldn't understand.

The air was soon filled with the smell of something delicious. Nami didn't realize how hungry she was until he bought over a plate of rice covered in a golden brown sauce with pieces of meat, onion, potato, carrot and apple mixed in.

"I hope you like curry."

"That looks good."

Sanji grinned, his face flushing with happiness. He bought another plate for himself and sat opposite to her.

"So what were you doing by yourself?"

She pretended not to hear him and continued to eat. She wasn't in a sharing mood and it really was none of his business.

"Did you have a fight with someone?"

How annoyingly persistent he was.

"Was it someone at school? I'll beat some manners into him."

Not even close. But it was a nice gesture, in a strange sort of way.

"It'll make you feel better if you talk about it."

Talk about it with him? No way. He wouldn't understand.

Unexpectedly, she found herself scrapping the plate clean. Sanji was only half way done with his meal. The greedy side of her wanted seconds, but she waited to see he would offer more to her before she asked. The food was really too good to pass up.

As if reading her mind, he took her plate and scooped another batch of rice and curry. He handed it back to her but stopped just short of her reach.

"Thank you, Sanji-kun," she said in her sugary voice. She leaned forward to grab the plate, but he pulled it away from her. What's he trying to do?

"Answer my questions please."

Exasperated by his request, she sat back down and crossed her arms in defiance. "Maybe I'm not hungry anymore."

He seemed conflicted, but determined. Why did it matter to him? Was he that curious? Finally Nami caved in and explained in as little detail as possible on what happened. He listened patiently to her woeful tale.

"My sister is right. It was a stupid idea," she said in a dejected tone.

"It's normal for family to fight, but I think you can go there. You're absolutely brilliant!"

She ignored him on the last part, but he was right. She did feel a little better.

After all the food was consumed and everything cleaned up, a crazy idea entered her head. If Vivi ever found out what she was doing and what she was planning to ask, she would never hear the end of it from her.

She reasoned it was getting very late and she wasn't ready to go home just yet. Plus his place seemed big enough so it shouldn't be a problem.

Strangely enough, when she asked him if she could spend the night, he had a nosebleed.

Nami made him wait outside his apartment while she changed into his spare pajamas. Afterward she laid out the boundary. The kotatsu was to stay between them. No one could cross the imaginary line splitting the room in half. He complied with everything she said with no complaint, though she could tell he was sad about something.

For a long time, she lied awake in the strange place she was in. She had a hard time falling asleep. His place smelled different and she wasn't use to sleeping on the tatami. It was uncomfortable, her back aching from the lack of soft padding.

All she could do in the meantime was stare at soft glow of her cell phone. She heard it beep awhile ago, a text message from her sister. It simply read, Come home. She wondered if Bellemere had forced her to write it.

Nami heard movement on Sanji's side of the room. She quickly snapped closed her cell phone and ducked it under the cover, her eyes squeezing shut. She didn't want him to know she was still awake. The water faucet was turned on briefly and then turned off. Soon after there was a flat thud as something heavy fell on the floor nearby. She listened intently for any more noises from him.

Deeming it safe to move again, she rolled over to check on him only to freeze solidly in place. Sanji had crossed the boundary she had so explicitly defined and was sleeping less than an arm's length away from her. She expected at any second he would jump awake and narrow the gap between them, but nothing happened. Instead, his lips parted slightly as he began to breathe through his mouth.

She steadied her nerves and quietly made the motions to move herself. No point making a scene if nothing happened. The street light pouring in from the window gave off just enough illumination for her to regard his features. His lank blond hair hung over most of his face, nagging at her sense of symmetry. Sometimes she had that unconscious urge to touch and brush back his hair.

Her eyes followed his jaw line down to his neck. The top two buttons of his shirt was undone, exposing his collar bone. She stopped herself when she realized she was staring at him. It was getting late, she thought. But she had to admit he was a nice guy and was very useful to have around.

In the morning, she woke to the sound of cooking. Nami was groggy and her back felt stiff. She didn't know when she finally fell asleep, but she knew she would pay for it later in the day. Sanji, on the other hand, was energetic and all smiles. He got on her nerves. Lucky for him, his food improved her mood.

She kicked him out of his apartment again to change back into her clothes. It was time to go home and face the scolding she knew she had coming. She checked her cell phone for any messages or missed calls, but found none. She sighed.

It was hard to guess what they thought of her. Maybe they didn't care at all.

Surprisingly Sanji packed her the same dessert snacks he had been sending to her at school. It was in the familiar small pink cardboard. "It's a peace offering."

"You made it?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I can't make anything else. I don't have an oven."

Like a gentleman, Sanji walked her to the subway and paid for her ticket.

At home, the laughing would not stop.

"You girls, crack me up. I thought it was something serious." Bellemere took a bite of the mochi and then took a long drag off her cigarette. Her wild red hair was tied up in a pony-tail and she was dressed in her usual green-checkered shirt. "If Nami wants to go to a fancy university, let her."

Nami's hands were sandwiched under her legs as she sat. She was relieved. She wondered how much Nojiko had told Bellemere about their fight. She glanced over to her older sister, but she was preoccupied with Bellemere.

"Be serious. How can we afford that?"

"Nah, don't worry about it. We'll deal with it when the time comes. I can always sell my body," she laughed. She wiggled her chest at them like she was dancing.

Nojiko groaned and shook her head, sensing a lost cause. "And where were you, Nami? I called Vivi's house but they said she and her father were away."

"At a friend's place," Nami replied slowly.

"Who?"

"Was it a guy?" Bellemere sat up with renewed interest. She leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand while giving Nami an amused look.

Nami hesitated. She considered lying to them, but with both of them scrutinizing her, there was no way she could pull it off convincingly. "Well..."

"Finally! One of you girls got yourself a boyfriend. Did you do anything with him?"

"No!"

"Oh how boring! Hmm, maybe I should have that talk with you."

"What!" Nami turned to Nojiko for help, but found she had magically disappeared.


	6. Chapter 6

Kotogakko

Hong Kong was amazing. Its expansive skyscrapers put New York City to shame. All architecture were modern and almost everyone either lived or worked high above the ground. It was too bad they missed Lunar New Year last week. It would have been wonderful to see the lion dances, fireworks and parades.

To Vivi's disappointment, there was no chance for sightseeing. After they arrived, her father headed straight to several meetings with Pell accompanying him. She had to stay in her room and try to keep herself busy with whatever hotel amenities that they had. She wasn't allowed to venture into the city by herself.

Nami would be proud to see she had completed her schoolwork, but she rather do some shopping. It wasn't until the very last day of their stay did Pell went with her to a nearby market district. He even helped her bartered down the prices with a couple of the vendors.

Overall, she was very pleased with her purchases: a long black coat with a Mandarin collar and a satin blue Hanfu dress designed with a classic phoenix floral patterns. For Nami, she bought a leather scallop flap hand bag with a chain shoulder strap. She thought it looked cute enough for her.

The flight back to Japan was uneventful. Vivi was too sleepy to remember most of it. There was something about flying that always drained her energy even though she was only sitting most of the time.

When the airplane landed, there was a short delay due to the rainy weather. Her father took the task of picking up their luggage while Pell went on ahead to retrieve the car from the airport parking garage. She tried testing Nami to let her know she was back, but discovered she had forgotten to charge her cell phone the day before.

When she got home, she forgot to call Nami and instead fell straight to sleep.

They met like they always did on the subway. Nami had calculated perfectly which subway train to get on and at what time so that they would always meet. Vivi lived further away from school so she was first on the train. It was her job to save her friend a seat. Of course, there were the few rare instances that Vivi was late and missed her train. Naturally, she would hear a lecture from Nami, but it was nothing stern. On those occasions, they would just meet up at class.

When Nami appeared on the train, Vivi waved her down and motioned to the seat next to her. She was excited and wanted to share her Hong Kong experience even though there wasn't much to say. It didn't take long for her to notice her somber demeanor. Even the present she bought from Hong Kong didn't seem to have any effect on her.

"What's wrong? You're so quiet. Did something happen while I was gone?"

"Nope. Nothing."

"What about Todai? Did ask your mother about it?"

"Hmm." Nami shrugged her shoulders. "It's little too early for that."

"After the exams, this school year will be done. Then we're on our last year."

"Well, I think I should go to school somewhere closer to home."

Vivi knew her father would want her to go there. She was disappointed Nami had lost interest in the idea.

The sessions were over and class time was devoted for study time. The majority of students divided up into small groups to prepare for the exams. Nami and Vivi, as class reps, had errands to run. Sanji had snuck away from his classroom to lend a hand as usual.

Nami took it all in stride and loaded him with lots of things to carry. Pamphlets and paperwork to be sorted and stored in the science room. He seemed always happy to help out.

Vivi needed some material from the gym's storage room so they split up. Flyers and posters for the following school year. The swim club would be starting up in the spring. Time to recruit new members. She heard someone crying in the corner of the gym. It was Luffy.

His hands covered his face, moaning about something. "No, no, no, no, no..."

"What are you doing in here?"

"Vivi!" he cried, his lips trembling. He grabbed of her hands with desperation in his eyes. "I used the scale in the gym."

The way he said it, it sounded like he committed a serious crime. She waited for him to elaborate, but he went back moaning to himself.

"What's wrong with using the scale?" She patted his hand, trying to cheer him up. She had a difficult time being sympathetic.

"I lost weight!"

"Oh," Vivi responded, still confused.

"I'm suppose to gain five kilogram by today. I ate everything I could." He went on to list all the food he ate over the whole week. Most of it being meat. "I lost two kilo. What am I going to do? The teacher is going to be so angry with me."

"I'm sure the teacher will be understanding. You tried your best. It sounded like you ate a lot of food this week."

Sniffing, he looked up with his big eyes. "Do you think so?" He blew his nose and then peeked at his tissue at the resulting mucus.

Vivi groaned inwardly, trying to not think about what he just did. "Why do you need to gain weight?"

"The teacher says I need to get heavier if I wanna play soccer." His eyes lit up unexpectedly. He had a hopeful expression. "That's right! I forgot! I haven't eaten Sanji's lunch yet. Maybe I can still that gain weight."

Luffy jumped onto his, dusted himself off and headed out of the gym.

"Good luck," she called out to him, shaking her head.

"Bye, bye, Vivi. Thank you!"

Vivi seriously doubted that Sanji had that much food.

She made it back to her classroom with her posters and found Nami and Sanji talking to each other. They seemed to be having a serious discussion. Nami sat in her desk while Sanji took the desk in front of hers, sitting on top of its table in order to face her. They broke off their conversation when Nami saw her coming.

"Luffy is looking for you. I think he needs your lunch."

"That's right. He hadn't made his round today." Sanji apologized, mumbling something to himself. His hands sank into his pants pockets as he walked out their classroom.

When Sanji was out of hearing range, Vivi leaned in closer to Nami and asked slyly, "So what were the of two doing?" She was hoping to get a rise out of her.

"Nothing. Just talking about school stuff." Nami answered, distracted. She completely missed the insinuating tone in Vivi's voice. There was a short silence with no response from Nami.

Vivi heaved a small sigh. Digging information from Nami was a trying task sometimes. "What are you thinking about?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know that look. You're plotting something."

"No, I'm not." She slammed her notebook close, putting it back in her schoolbag.

"Then what's going on? You're acting all weird today. That's not like you." Vivi settled her supplies on her desk and starting going through them. Some of the posters were old and torn. They probably needed to make new ones.

"He said he's not doing anything after he graduates. Even that dumb Zoro is going to take the entrance exams. At least he could try that. He's not that stupid."

"So what did he say to that?"

Nami's brow furled. "He said what's the point. Doesn't need anymore schooling."

"Why does it bother you? Not everyone is planning to go to school after graduating."

"Because he was bugging me about..." Nami voice trailed off and she hesitated after glancing up at Vivi. "It's nothing. Just annoying how people think they can tell me what to do."

She wanted to ask her what Sanji was bothering her about, but got interrupted. A few of the other girls from the class showed up and invited them to their study group. Vivi made a mental note to ask her after class, but she never got the chance. And after the end of the day, she had forgotten the matter entirely.


	7. Chapter 7

Kotogakko

The exams were over and scores were posted. The rest of the school days were wasted as they counted off the days until the big graduation ceremony. To Zoro's annoyance, Sanji scored higher than Zoro. Sanji always did and he showed no guilt about rubbing it in. But today, he didn't do his usual flaunting. Instead, Sanji only looked at their scores and shrugged his shoulders. Then he wandered off to stare at the second-year's scores.

Zoro thought the whole thing strange until he realized it was the last test score they would ever compete in. That must have put a damper on Sanji's mood. Zoro didn't have much to say to him about it. It was bound to happen, but he didn't have to worry about him for very long. Someone had other plans for him.

Zoro could only watch the bizarre scene unfold before him. He supposed he should have given Sanji a hand and knocked some sense into the perpetrator creating the scene, but he found the whole thing too amusing. Plus, it was always fun to watch Sanji blow up. Zoro gave him another minute or two before he lost his temper and pulverize Luffy.

"Let go my leg, you dumbass!" Sanji yelled. He shook his leg, trying hard to dislodge Luffy. Somehow Luffy managed to stay attached, despite how much Sanji shouted and shook his leg.

"Please! Please! Please!" Luffy pleaded. "Please! Please! Please!"

"Like hell I wanna play again." Sanji tried prying Luffy off next, but Luffy had his arms wrapped tightly around his leg like a rubber band. It was impossible.

"Please! Please! Please!"

"No. No! NO!"

The students who saw the commotion only gave them a nervous glance and hurried away. Not that it was really that scary. Sanji was still at the low end of the anger meter, his cussing at the minimal level. It looked like Sanji was keeping his cool this time, which meant Luffy would survive. How disappointing.

Zoro breathed a bored sigh. Better end this mess. There were better things to do than watch this. He grabbed Luffy by his collar and tickled his sides. The result was immediate.

"No fair!" Luffy cried as he laughed himself silly. He hugged his sides and fell to the floor.

"Shit. I told you no. Don't bother me about it again. Or forget about anymore lunches from me."

Luffy's jawed dropped. His eyes grew big and glistened. He looked like he was about to cry. "You're so mean!" Luffy sobbed and he ran away.

Sanji groaned. He had a guilty look on his face.

"Let him go. He'll get over it." Zoro retrieved his school bag and shinai and headed back to the classroom. It took a him a few minutes to notice all the stares and blank looks. He was in the wrong classroom again. Sanji finally found him and dragged him back to theirs.

Of the group of students who bothered to show up during the remaining days, most were excited about the summer. Summer meant festivals, parties and most importantly vacation. There were talks about camping trips and trips to foreign countries. A few students lamented about the upcoming entrance exams, which was Zoro's situation. No fun or relaxation for him. He leaned back in his chair and stared at his schedule for the summer. Nothing but cramming.

Sanji was bored and quiet. He didn't bother to join in any of the useless chatter. He laid his head on his desk and zoned out. Zoro couldn't blame him for his lack of enthusiasm.

Suddenly, the door slid open hard enough to shake the glass windows. Guess who should appear, the brainy second-year student, Nami. What the hell was she doing here? She always had to make her presence known.

Nami gave everyone a dirty look, which meant to mind their own business and they did. In her arms, she carried pamphlets and booklets of various kinds. No doubt she had some extra work for her favorite slave. She marched over to Sanji and dumped them all on his head.

That pretty much woke him and he sat up in surprise. "Nami-san," Sanji said stupidly. He smiled at her in his usual lovesick way.

"I want you to read all of this," Nami commanded. "Don't skim over them. Read them carefully. Each and every one of them."

Sanji noticed all the reading material Nami had brought him. Half on his desk, the other half on the floor. He was a little confused, and so was Zoro. "What are these? Why do you want me to read them?"

"Just do as I say," Nami said simply. Then she left the same way she came in. Loudly.

Zoro picked up one of the booklets off the floor and read the title. "Pastry school? What the hell is this crap?"

"Give me that." Sanji shot him a dark look and snatched it from his hand. Sanji quickly gathered them all up and stuffed it in his school bag.

Zoro laughed out loud. "Does she want you to go to dessert school? Are you going to make those teeny-weeny cream puffs for her?" It was too funny. He couldn't stop laughing. Sanji, the so-called chain-smoking, womanizing badass, making those cutesy pastries. What was next? A pink frilly apron?

"Shut up." Sanji's shoulders sagged. He laid his head on his school bag and zoned out again.

Zoro waved the idiot off. If Sanji wasn't swooning over Nami, he was moaning about something else. He just needed something productive to knock him out of his funk. Like a good ass-kicking.

At the moment, Zoro had other things to worry about, like which cramming class to take over the summer, whether there was enough time in the day to squeeze in kendo practice and the special prize that he had been waiting months for. He would figure out something for Sanji later. A camping trip into the mountains perhaps. Zoro hadn't camped in a long time. It was good for meditating and getting in touch with nature. He will definitely need a break after the exams.

After school, Zoro pulled Sanji aside. He hated asking for help, but this was too important, and since Zoro really didn't trust anyone else in school, he had to ask Sanji. "I need a favor."

"What is it, marimo? I got some reading to do," Sanji said irritably.

Was Sanji seriously going to read all that crap Nami gave him? And he was suppose to be the smart one, Zoro thought. Whatever. That was Sanji's own business what he did with his free time. Zoro only needed his help for an hour or so. "I need you to come with me to pick up something."

"Pick up something? Like what?" Sanji paused and then he grimaced. "It's not another shitty sword, is it?"

"Be quiet!" Zoro growled. A couple of students strolled by, but they didn't pay any attention to them.

"Shit! I don't want to go. You can do it by yourself."

"C'mon! You have to come with me."

"Because you can't find the shitty shop by yourself. What is this? Your fifth sword? How many do you need?"

"I told you to be quiet about that." Zoro dragged Sanji to corner. He could see he wasn't going to be discreet. "Just quit whining and help me already."

Sanji sighed and muttered something under his breath. "Let's get it over with."

Half an hour later, Zoro and Sanji were standing in an old antique shop. It was filled with old furniture and paintings. Some were of European design, others were of Middle Eastern origin. Sanji moped around in the front while Zoro talked to the owner of the shop. The old geezer was giving him a hard time.

"It took you long enough. How long did you expect me to hold on this sword?"

"Sorry, sorry," Zoro apologized and he bowed profusely. "I was busy with school."

"Kids like you have no sense of priority these days. Always yakking on your phones." The old geezer went back into the storage room and returned with a long thin wooden case. "I suppose you want to see it first."

Zoro nodded.

Gently he set the box on the counter and opened the lid.

Yubashiri, a long katana with a black handle and sheath, was an ordinary-looking sword, but it was strong. When Zoro laid his eyes on it, he knew he had to have it. It was perfect.

Unfortunately for Zoro, it was no easy task. He had to find the shop again. It took days, even with Sanji's help. And then he had convince the shopkeeper to hold onto it until he could pay for it. But now Yubashiri was his. It was worth the work and wait.

Zoro took the katana out of the box and unsheathed it. It was light and smooth. He couldn't wait to practice with it along with his other swords.

"Are you done yet?" Sanji asked loudly.

"Hold your horses." Zoro resheathed the katana and placed it back in the box. Dumbass. Couldn't Sanji be a little more patient? He had to put up with all his stupid swooning over girls. There was no doubt in his mind that swords were better than girls. Why Sanji wasted so much time on them was beyond him.


End file.
